The Haunted House
One night Mickey and Donald were driving down a dark road in the woods. Pluto was riding in the back of the car. Bats flew overhead, owls hooted, and the wind blew through the trees. Suddenly the old car began to sputter. Then it rolled to a stop. "What a place to get stuck!" said Donald. Mickey checked the gas tank. "We're out of gas", he said. They walked down the road, looking for help. After a while they saw a roof above the trees. "Let's walk over to that house and ask for some gas", said Donald. Just as they reached the end of the path, the moon came out from behind a cloud. There stood the spookiest old house Mickey and Donald had ever seen. "That place looks haunted", said Donald. "I think I'll just wait here with Pluto." "I don't believe in haunted houses", Mickey said. "Come with me." Mickey and Donald crept up to the house and peeked into a window. "I see a light", whispered Mickey. "Someone must be home." Pluto was busy sniffing around. He peeked into another window. In the dark he saw three shadows-a fat one, a short one, and a tall skinny one. Pluto began to bark and the shadows disappeared. Donald came over to see why Pluto was barking. He looked in the window, but he could not see anything. Donald and Pluto went to the door. Finally Mickey rang the bell. All by itself, the door slowly opened! They tiptoed inside. "Is anyone home?" called Mickey. No one answered. Then... bang! The door slammed shut. Pluto jumped into Mickey's arms. "It's okay, boy", said Mickey. "That was just the wind." A Large painting was hanging in the hall. "Look at that man", cried Donald. "I think he's watching us." "Nonsense", said Mickey. He walked closer to the painting and poked at the frame. Zooooooooooom! The wall spun around and Mickey disappeared. "Where's Mickey?" Donald cried. He and Pluto rushed to the painting. Donald touched the frame. Zoooooooooooooom! The wall spun around again, and Donald and Pluto disappeared. They were in a dark secret passage. There they found Mickey, too scared to speak. For coming toward them were three ghosts--a fat one, a short one, and a tall, skinny one. "Go-o-o-o-o away! Go-o-o-o away! Go-o-o-o-o away!" the ghosts moaned. Donald and Mickey pushed against the secret door. But it would not open. The ghosts kept gliding closer. They were trapped. Then Pluto saw a small door on the floor. He began to bark. "Pluto has found a way out", said Mickey. He and Donald quickly opened the door. All three jumped through the opening. Suddenly they were falling. Down.... down.... down.... "Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!" howled Pluto. When they finally reached the bottom, they landed in a large laundry basket. Mickey, Donald, and Pluto peeked out. Creepy spiders were crawling everywhere. "Now do you believe in haunted houses?" asked Donald. "We'll never get out of here." Once more, Pluto came to their rescue. He found an old stairway. Mickey and Donald followed him up the stairs. At the top there was a heavy door. Mickey and Donald opened the door into a dusty old library. Suddenly three gigantic bats swooped down from the balcony. Swoosh! Swoosh! They flew all around. Pluto grabbed one of the bats and shook it back and forth. Sawdust flew around him. "Now I know this house isn't haunted", cried Mickey. "These bats are fakes. They're stuffed with sawdust." Pluto saw a ghost on the balcony. He barked and barked. "I think someone is trying to scare us away", said Mickey. "Well, I'm scared", said Donald. "Let's go!" But before they could go anywhere, a giant skeleton danced into the room. He jiggled his legs. He jiggled his arms. "Get out of this house!" he cried. Pluto hid behind Mickey and Donald. They backed away from the skeleton and bumped into a metal door. The door flew open and they stumbled over a large pile of bags. "These are money bags from the bank!" cried Mickey. The skeleton came in glaring at them. He had taken off his skeleton mask. "I knew this house was not really haunted", Mickey said. "You're the one who's been playing tricks to scare us away from here. I bet you are a bank robber!" "That is right", said the fat crook. He called his two friends and they came in. They were still wearing their ghost costumes. "What are you going to do?" asked Mickey. "We're going to dump you in the river", said the leader. "Then we'll look for a new hideout." The fat bank robber grabbed Mickey. The short one grabbed Donald. The tall, skinny one tried to grab Pluto. But Pluto was too fast for him. He ran under his legs, grabbed a money bag, and raced out of the house. The leader called to his skinny partner. "Forget about that dumb dog", he said. "Help me tie up these two troublemakers." The robbers tied Mickey and Donald together with a long rope. As soon as they were alone again, Mickey and Donald shouted for help. But who could possibly hear them? The robbers were busy packing up their stolen money. At last Mickey and Donald stopped shouting. They knew it was hopeless. "I wonder what happened to Pluto", said Donald. "I hope he got away", said Mickey. After a long time the gang came back to get Mickey and Donald. Just as they reached the door, they heard the sound of barking. Pluto raced into the room. The sheriff and his men were close behind. Pluto grab to Mickey and Donald. "Pluto!" cried Donald. "You came to our rescue!" Pluto was very glad that Mickey and Donald were safe. He kissed them over and over again. The bank robbers tried to run away. But the sheriff's men were too fast for them. They caught the robbers and led them to their car in handcuffs. After Mickey and Donald has been untied, the sheriff scratched Pluto's head. "You sure have a smart dog", he said. "When he brought me a money bag, I knew he had found the bank robbers. I've been looking all over for that gang." By the time the sun came up, the old house did not look haunted anymore. The sheriff held up the money bag that Pluto had brought to him. "The bank had asked me to give you this as a reward for catching the robbers", he said. "Golly", said Mickey. "Thank you." The sheriff also gave them some gas so that they could drive home. On the way, they bought a bone for Pluto. He was the one who had caught the robbers and he deserved a reward. Category:The Adventures of Punky Brewster